Maria Sharapova swept China's Li Na aside in straight sets on Thursday to keep her bid for a third straight victory at the DFS Classic firmly on track. The Russian star cruised into the quarter-finals with a 6-2, 6-4 win and will now face 12th seed Mara Santangelo, who accounted for 5th seed Ai Sugiyami.
It was 2004 Wimbledon champion Sharapova's 12th consecutive win on the grass at Edgbaston and the 200th overall in her career. "Playing match after match you don't focus on your record, but when you do hear statistics like this it is very nice," she said.
Sharapova added: "I was definitely better than in my first match, and I think I will keep improving. I am getting a bit of rhythm. "Conditions were a little quicker today and we had some good rallies." Unseeded Jamea Jackson had earlier caused the shock of the tournament, enduring an epic, rollercoaster encounter before defeating last year's beaten finalist Jelena Jankovic 6-4, 0-6, 7-5.
RESULTS (x denotes seed):
QUARTER-FINALS: Meilen Tu (USA) bt Marion Bartoli (FRA x6) 6-4, 6-4; Vera Zvonareva (RUS) bt Francesca Schiavone (ITA x2) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1; Playing later Elena Likhovtseva (RUS x4) vs Jamea Jackson (USA).
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